County moves to award multimillion-dollar HVAC and fuel tank replacement contracts

Somerset County presented resolutions on June 24 proposing two capital contracts: a $4,264,000 award to H & S Construction and Mechanical Inc. for HVAC upgrades at the Richard Hall Community Health and Wellness Center (500 North Bridge Street, Bridgewater) and a $3,563,000 award to Herbert Lutz & Co. for underground storage tank replacement at South County DPW facilities (750 East Main Street, Bridgewater and 410 Roycefield Road, Hillsborough). County staff said the Richard Hall award would pay for a complete overhaul of the HVAC system in the facility’s older wing. For the UST replacement, staff said the project will remove underground tanks and replace them with above-ground storage tanks; they noted a regulatory requirement and long lead times on tanks as reasons to move the project forward. The resolutions were presented as part of the meeting materials and identified as contract awards (Resolutions 25-1273 and 25-1274). The June 24 transcript records the contract amounts and the project descriptions as presented to the board; it does not include a roll-call vote or final approval recorded during the work session portion of the meeting. Next steps: if the board approves the resolutions on the appropriate agenda, the county will proceed with contracting, procurement and the scheduled work; the UST replacement was described as time-sensitive because of regulatory requirements and equipment lead times.